partial signal

[JWIII]

zip code is 33812

I have an old style directional antenna. Radio Shack type thing. It is the biggest one they used to sell. I have it on 2 rods measuring 20' high total and I have an indoor amplifier to pull in stations. Without the amplifier I can only pull in 2-3 stations. With it I do about 25-30 stations.

We had a major cold spell during the last 2 weeks and I noticed during it that some of the changes either didn't want to come in or were several restricted in signal. NBC was the along with ABC and a few other channels. I thought it was probably the cold air but I didn't think it would cause the signal to nearly be lost.

I contacted a local dealer and they had never heard of a such a thing but they thought I might need to replace the coaxial cable.
Should I just replace it or should I invest in a new antenna?

I do have HDTV on an LCD set.

John in Lakeland , FL

[tigerbangs]

It sounds as if you really should replace that Radio Shack antenna and coaxial cable: The VU-190 that you own was a mediocre antenna in it's best days, and can be bettered by a number of smaller, better built antennas. I believe that your coax cable may also be at fault, since that antenna should not need an amplifier at 25 miles to get the Tampa-St. Pete stations. If your antenna is more that 5 years old, it's time to consider replacing it.

Here's what I would use in your area: A Winegard HD-7696P VHF-high-band plus UHF antenna on your existing mast along with a Channel Master 9521a rotator, whcih will insure that you can see WTSP, your CBS station, which is in a different location than the other TSP transmitters. You should also have access to the Orlando stations if you rotate your antenna, and the rotator will allow that. If you want to amplify, take the old amplifier out of the line and use a Winegard HDP-269 preamplifier, which will give you much better weak-signal performance because it amplifies the signal at the antenna where the signal is the strongest, and will allow you to overcome the line losses associated with coaxial cable. I would replace all the existing coaxial cable with new RG-6u coaxial cable, as well. When you are done, you'll see a lot more TV than you are used to seeing, with better reliablity.

http://www.winegard.com
http://www.channelmaster.com
http://manuals.solidsignal.com/AntInstallGuide.pdf

[JWIII]

I printed out your reply so I could have a hardcopy of it. There is a local dealer that I am going to talk to after work on Friday and see what they have in antenna and talk to them about your recommendations. This particular place said they had an omni antenna that could reach both Tampa and Orland but might not get the Tampa CBS affiliate. The cost of the antenna was $160 plus the cable. Need abotu 50' of cable.


John in FL

[JWIII]

I went to a local store to get the antenna and showed the guy your posting. What I got was a wiregard omnidirectional antenna. Metrostar VHF/UHF. Also got a pre amp for the inside. At first it seemed like it was going to do the trick. I scanned and it took a few minutes. I ended up with 30 channels. I got all the channels I normally get plus 1 channel out of Orlando. Didn't get CBS out of Tampa.

Well, today we have a storm system coming through and it has been very breezy today. Rain late tonight into Sunday morning. I found that when I got home not even half the channels came in. Bascially from the ABC station in Tampa upwards came in. I rescanned it and I only got 13 which are the ones after ABC.

This sort of reminds me when one has satellite and when a big cloud gets in the way the signal goes out. I am tempted to go buy a 50' cable to hook up to my old antenna and set it back up. I have wondered if it were the tv as well still.

When we had good signal last night I noticed that the NBC station still had some little blips in it here and there. NOthing like it used to be but still slightly noticeable.

What are your recommendations? btw, I don't want to deal with a rotator. It is expensive and I would just rather turn the thing myself. It is worth it to me to save that money for that inconvenience.

John in Fl

[tigerbangs]

You shoud have listened to my advice in the frst place: omnidirectional antennas are absolutely useless for anything beyond 15 miles or so. Use my original reccomendation: you won't be sorry! You can find a cheaper rotator if you want one:L the Chanel Master is more expensive than most. Look for the AntennaCraft TDP2, which sells for about $50,00

[JWIII]

Your recommedation, they are directional antennas right? Does everyone usually order these antennas online or go to local shop? Only shops around here, that I know is Radio Shack and Mid Florida audio-video which is where I got this omni thing. I will have to look in the phone book to see what else is there.

I am going to research the specifics you have posted.

[JWIII]

I have seen a few people with 2 antennas on a single pole. how exactly does that work? I had thought about pointing one antenna towards Tampa and getting another towards Orlando and use a splitter to join the cable. Would that work?

The pre amp, does that hook to the pole or is it an indoor thing?

John

[tigerbangs]

Preamplifiers are 2-piece devices: one piece lives at the antenna, and the other piece plugs into the AC power inside the house.
Most companies have stopped stocking antenas, but there are several good online suppliers, which I will link later on. Joining 2 broadband antenna isn''t ever a good idea because if multipath and signal cancellation effects by joining 2 antennas using a splitter. In the TSP area, many people use 2 antennas: one broadband VHF-UHF antennas aimed at the major antenna farm in Tampa, and a single-channel antenna aimed at WTSP, which lies in a different direction: those two antennas are joined using a device called a Jointenna, which filters out offending signals, and allows the addition of a single station to a broadband array. Jointennas do not work for 2 broadband antennas, especially where the difference in signal strength is as great as it is for you between T-SP and Orlando.

A preamplifier is useful when looing for stations at distances of 35+ miles or when trying to run multiple TV sets from the same antenna system. Preamplifiers are not necessary in very srong signal areas, and can overload in the face of strong local signals.

http://www.solidsignal.com
http://www.starkelectronic.com
http://www.warrenelectronics.com
http://www.summitsource.com
http://manuals.solidsignal.com/AntInstallGuide.pdf

[JWIII]

What you are saying is that I need a winegard HD7696P VHF-high band plus UHF along with the pre amp on there that will be both on the antenna itself as well as inside the house. Are you also suggesting another antenna for the CBS station in Tampa or this one antenna is good enough?
How does the pre amp work? Meaning, does it plug in from the outside or does it work by remote? I don't have any access into the house from the outside unless I drill a hole and I don't want to do that unless I absolutely have to.

I can see that the antenna can only be gotten from one of the links you posted so I will probably inquire on the cheaper one.

Tonight I took down the omni and put up the old antenna. Being that it is very windy I Turned it to Orlando and was somewhat surprised what I got. 40 stations but not all of them came in. Can't even get CBS so no football this weekend at all.
Some of the stations still have that mixed signal but there are enough that are clear that I am content with.

Thanks for your help.......

[tigerbangs]

If you reread my messages to you, you need a separate antenna to see CBS in TSP if you do not get a rotator, since the WTSP transmitter lies at some distance from, and in a different direction from the other TSP stations. If you choose to go with a rotator, you can turn the antenna to get WTSP, otherwise, you will need a separate antenna aimed at the WTSP transmitter and a jointenna to combine the signals from the 2 antennas.